[2] Igali was born in Oporoma town, headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Nigeria on 4 April 1960.
He underwent theological studies under late Bishop Harford Iloputaife at the Bible Faith Training Centre in Lagos in 1989.
He also served severally as secretary, committee on export to West Africa and as special assistant to honourable ministers of foreign affairs.
He was later appointed secretary to the Bayelsa State government in January 2006 and was concurrently named honorary adviser and peace envoy to the President on Niger Delta (2006–2007).
He also played a major role in bringing the nexus between water, energy and agriculture through the construction of multipurpose dams in Nigeria.
He resumed at the external affairs headquarters after his posting and joined the newly established trade and investment department in the ministry to drive the Structural Adjustment Programme introduced by then Head of State General Ibrahim Babangida in 1986 on the international front.
He also served as secretary, committee on export to West Africa and as special assistant to honourable ministers of foreign affairs.
During his stint as the ambassador to the Scandinavian countries, Igali was concerned about the influx of Nigerian migrants from Italy to the region following a heavy crackdown by the Italian authorities and he campaigned for a rehabilitation programme.
He was responsible for exchange of twelve (12) Economic Missions, with visible impact on foreign investment inflow into Nigeria.
[8] During this period, Igali was placed in charge of negotiations with various militant camps following the emergence of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND.
Through his engagement with the militants and other stakeholders, the Nigerian General Election of 2007 was able to hold in spite of several threats and tens of kidnapped expatriates were released in the Niger Delta.